From Flat to Fabulous: The Power of Surprise and Delight in Personal Branding for High-Achievers

The grumpy guys who flashed frowns with crossed arms brought a weird surprise and delight.

The diminutively statured Winston Churchill-like figures, with huge heads and naked baby bodies, seemed oddly out of place in juxtaposition to the ballerina on the wallpaper.

They stood outside the hotel elevator. Their positioning frequently changed throughout the day. Sometimes, they faced each other, and sometimes, they were several feet apart in opposite directions. I wondered whose job it was to move these quirky, cute statues.

The guys added a special element to my stay at The Perry Lane Hotel in Savannah, GA. Where will they be facing next was the thought each time I walked toward the elevator bank.

I was there to speak at a Ragan Communications conference about redefining success and creating your next Life Leap.

Here’s what I heard from those who traveled the elevator with me or I met on the coffee line.

Do you know they move?

Do you know who moves them?

They get taken away at night.

They look different every time I walk by.

Surprise and delight.

The hotel was giving guests a moment to talk about it. It brought connection, some fun, and a story about the hotel we could speak about after we left. Like I'm doing here.

It's what differentiates this hotel and certainly drives word-of-mouth marketing and bookings.

Attention spans are fleeting, and so is our story.

How we present ourselves to make that first impression, to surprise and delight, is the difference between flat and fabulous.

• What will you be remembered for?

• What’s your point of view?

• What’s your slight edge?

We are all persons of influence.

We influence our clients, team members, direct reports, bosses...

Daniel Priestly, in the book Key Person of Influence, says that a person of influence's primary focus is their origin story. These days, so much of business success comes down to how you present yourself.

You know those people who effortlessly and charismatically turn up the volume in a meeting?

It’s rarely natural. It takes effort.

I believe your personal point of view is the currency for innovation today.

It matters.

Too many high achievers are head-down in their work, thinking they should be recognized for their hard work. If they are not creating an impression of who they are and what they stand for, all that hard work could go unnoticed.

An article in Fast Company talks about becoming the C.E.O. of Me by thinking about your personal brand as something to be researched, written, edited, and evolved.

What do you want people to say about you when you leave the room?

When I ask my clients that question, the frequent response is they are passionate, hard workers. Yes, but what else? Going deeper is where you find and develop your personal brand.

Martha Stewart’s carrot cake was unique not for its ingredients, amounts, or mixtures but for its presentation and its point of view that the world is better with a delicious and beautifully appointed piece of cake.

Set a standard for yourself. A high standard that most don’t set for themselves.

This is intentional.

This is powerful.

This is where you go from good to great.

Go the extra mile. It is never crowded. Mel Robbins

When you’ve developed your origin story and know your standards, ask yourself how you can surprise and delight.

At the conference this week, I tried to go the extra mile, connecting deeply with the woman I spoke to, to surprise and delight by being available, listening intently, not to respond but to understand, offering to coach when they were open to it and teaching on stage to build awareness and authority over their life and career. I was hired for a keynote for 45 minutes but showed up for 2.5 days fully engaged.

We are influencers every day.

How is your influence showing up?

I wrote about going the extra mile HERE.